Foreign business owners leave Japan in droves under tighter visa rules

Japan immigrationExits quadruple despite grace period as higher capital threshold takes effectCompany owners must now employ permanent workers to qualify for Japan's business manager visa. (Photo by Takayuki Yao)EUGENE LANGSeptember 2, 2026 06:23 JSTTOKYO -- Nearly 1,000 foreign nationals living in Japan on business manager visas left the country in the first half of 2026, almost four times as many as compared with a year earlier, after the government sharply tightened its requirements last autumn.